Coach Karl’s Corner: Flashback Friday as Nuggets take on Warriors

Eight years ago, to the day, the Golden State Warriors beat us in Game 2 of the first round, 131-117, tying up the series 1-1.

In Game 2, David Lee was hurt, and they started Harrison Barnes at the 4 position. With that shift, they became the more athletic team. It was a much different game than Game 1. Back then we knew that our weakness was their strength. At the time they were probably in the top 10 in three-point shooting, and we were not the best defensively guarding the three ball. And we saw Stephen Curry explode in what I like to call Basketball Broadway — the playoffs.

But understanding it was a series, we didn’t want to panic. Even at this time, they were a formidable opponent. Despite being without Danilo Gallinari, and Kenneth Faried banged up, we simply had to compete.

These last couple of months, Curry might have played his best basketball of his career, which is a compliment to him. He’s showing that he is constantly evolving as a basketball player. I remember Curry going off for 20-point quarters in such a dynamic way that, as a coach, all you can do is try to stop the momentum as quickly as possible by calling timeouts, changing the pace or defensively changing tactics.

After losing a star, achieving flow once again is hard. With a veteran rotation, players know where to go but still struggle to find consistency. When you take a dynamic player off the court everyone is left searching — coaches and players alike. Much like our situation at the end of the 2013 season when we lost Gallinari, this year’s Nuggets team has to piece the game together by who is playing well on a game-by-game basis. In these times you are usually heavily reliant on your best player. Nikola Jokic has a very good feel of the flow of the game, which can impact players like Paul Millsap, Michael Porter Jr. and Will Barton’s ability to play better.

Looking at tonight, Golden State is going to be hungry, as they are competing for one of the last few playoff spots. I expect Curry to be highly involved, so the key defensively is to get him to shoot a poor percentage of threes. Offensively, you have to ride Jokic. I’d try to get Draymond Green off Jokic, attack him and get him out of the game early with foul trouble. Denver hasn’t been playing their best, but they have a knack right now of getting the game to the fourth quarter where Jokic is at his best. Part of me says that Denver will win, but it will be a Curry versus Jokic fourth quarter, and as a fan I’m excited for what will happen.